The typical dispensing device has a container filled with a liquid, gas or gel and at one end of the container is a dispensing valve, which when actuated, dispenses a desired amount of fluid within the container. Such dispensing devices are used to dispense desired amounts of chemical, such as hair spray, deodorant, bug spray, soaps, glue and various forms of medication. In a typical dispensing device, the valve is actuated by depressing or tilting an actuator attached to the stem extending from one end of the valve. The valves available for such dispensing devices have any number of structures. Some valves operate as a pump such that less liquid is pumped out when the stem is partially depressed than when fully depressed. Other valves merely release pressurized liquid in the container, and for such valves the amount of liquid dispensed is determined by the length of time that the stem is retained in the depressed or tilted position. In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,351, l disclosed a valve which dispenses a fixed amount of liquid each time the valve is actuated.
When the valve of the dispensing device is actuated, a portion of the contents in the container is forced through the stem of the valve and out a nozzle located in the actuator attached to the portion of the stem extending outward of the container. After the valve ceases to dispense the fluid, the dispensing passage extending from the mechanics of the valve through the stem, and through a portion of the actuator to the nozzle remains open to the ambient. Where the device is used to dispense a substance that degrades or undergoes a change in properties as a result of exposure to the ambient, it is desired that any remaining liquid left in the passage through the stem and the dispensing actuator and nozzle be sealed against the ambient after each actuation of the valve. It is particularly desirable to seal this passage when the valve is used to dispense medication and the like to thereby prevent harmful contaminants from entering the passage.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a nozzle for a dispensing valve that is fitted at the distal end of the passage that will seal the passage after each actuation of the valve without interfering with the dispensing process.